


Watch the Stars With Me.

by Jmax523



Category: Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery (Video Game)
Genre: F/F, F/M, First Dates, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Stargazing, still don't know how to tag things
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-13
Updated: 2020-10-13
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:22:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,089
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26982097
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jmax523/pseuds/Jmax523
Summary: A personal revelation after a minor slip-up in Potions has led to you in what may be the most difficult challenge you've ever had to undertake in all your years at Hogwarts: Your first date.
Relationships: Player Character/Merula Snyde
Comments: 4
Kudos: 45





	Watch the Stars With Me.

**Author's Note:**

> (Spoilers for the First Date event quest in Hogwarts Mystery, since this is basically just that, with a few minor deviations.)

You’ve faced death time and again, curses, monsters, beasts, and all other manners of terrifying things in your four years at Hogwarts. Despite all this, as you stand outside the frilly, cozy-looking entrance to Madam Puddifoot’s tea shop, you’re certain your heart is about to jump out of your chest and run for the hills.

Taking a deep breath, you start subconsciously walking in a small circle, muttering to yourself, “I got this, I got this, I got this…”. It was a first date, nothing too fancy, you had picked out your outfit, the location, you were ready. So why the hell were you still terrified?

“She said yes, that’s a victory, at least…” You reason to yourself, which was fair, even working up the nerve to ask your rival-turned-crush-slash-rival, Merula Snyde, was a feat you were still impressed in yourself for achieving. Yes, she had agreed to go out with you, even confiding that she was hoping she was the crush that had been mentioned in the ever-present rumors that had been following you the last few days. Despite all this, paranoid thoughts still made you want to go back to your common room and shriek into a pillow.

“Hello, (l/n),” Speak of the devil, you turn around, and your heart jumps up into your throat when you spot Merula behind you. While you attempt to collect your panicking thoughts, you take in Merula’s outfit, a simple black dress, lined with intricate green patterns around the neck and the sleeves, ending just past her shoulders. Merula’s normally ratty, chocolate-colored hair had clearly taken some taming, the large patch of lighter hair near the front swept over her eyes. 

Sweet Merlin, her eyes, you’ve spent so much time looking at them, in duels, in the halls, and in every single class you’ve spent arguing with her, and yet this time, they looked so different, like two perfectly-cut rubies.

“Are you still with me, (l/n)?” Merula snaps her fingers near your head, and you quickly realize you’ve been staring at her like a dolt for several seconds.

“Wha- yes, I- we’re- I’m here,” You stutter awkwardly, and after a moment of silence, you point to the tea shop next to you, “Shall we?”.

Smooth, you kick yourself as you walk into the shop with Merula, and she looks around, grimacing slightly at the pastel-palette decor.

“...Very, flowery…” Merula comments, “Certainly nice, if you’re into flowers.”.

“Are you into flowers…?” You ask, and Merula sighs at you, “Ask that again, but think about it a little harder, (l/n).”.

“No, I sense I’ve made a mistake of some kind,” You deduce, and you quickly try to change the subject, settling on, “Well, you look great, even if it’s not your usual environment.”.

Merula gives a subtle smile, one that you only spot from years of learning how to read her face in duels, “Well, you look quite nice yourself, (l/n), surprisingly enough.”. You look down at the outfit Andre had helped you pick out for this date, a dark maroon shirt under a black suit jacket and a rose pinned to your lapel. A look that you definitely wouldn’t be wearing in many other contexts, but if Merula liked it, then you liked it, even if the black dress pants Andre had convinced you to wear might never come off.

Walking up to a table near the front of the tea shop, you pull out the chair facing away from the door, gesturing for Merula to sit down.

“Pulling out the chair for your date?” Merula asks incredulously, as she sits down, “Where did this chivalry come from?”.

“You haven’t exactly given me many opportunities, Merula,” You joke as you sit down opposite Merula, who, surprisingly, gives a short giggle before she answers with, “I can think of a few times you could have let the lady go first, (l/n).”.

“Not when the lady in question has her wand trained on me, I can’t,” You return as Madam Puddifoot, the cheery woman who owns the tea shop, walks up beside your table.

“Good evening, m’dears, what can I get for you two?” she asks, and suddenly, all of the nerves in your brain seem to short circuit at once.

“Um,” You answer like the nervous wreck you currently are, as you desperately try to remember what people get at tea shops.

“Tea?” You attempt, yeah, that’s a thing you can get at a tea shop, “We’ll have some tea, something that’s hard to spill, if you can.”.

“I’ll brew you two up something special,” Madam Puddifoot smiles, “You two go back to enjoying your first date. I’ll be back in a jiffy.”.

“How did she know it was our first date?” You wonder, and Merula rolls her eyes, “I know! Rather presumptuous of her, I mean, you definitely look like you’re on your first date…”.

“Is that supposed to mean you’re not on yours?” You ask, confused, and Merula shakes her head, “Of course I am, I just don’t look like it. You’re the one who gave us away, (l/n).”.

“Of course,” You respond, and you and Merula’s side of the table quickly goes quiet. 

“...So, what should we talk about?” You ask, and Merula puts her fist up to her chin, looking down at the table, “I don’t know, usually when we talk, we’re just arguing…”.

“I mean, surely there’s something we can talk about that won’t turn into an argument, right?” you offer, and Merula grins, “Yeah, we’re the best at talking!”.

There’s another moment of silence as you dig through every nook and cranny of your mind for something to prove that with, as Merula looks over at the large candles set on the table, burning without melting any of the wax set around them.

“Do you know what this ‘unspillable tea’ you ordered for both of us is?” she asks, immediately sending a shock down your spine, both of you, you ordered for both of you.

“Oh no, I did order for you, I’m so sorry, Merula, I wasn’t thinking…” Your shoulders sink as you attempt to explain yourself, “Tonks had warned me about spilling tea and… I’ve botched this, haven’t I?”.

Oddly enough, Merula smiles, an actual, pure smile, seemingly born from your misery, as most of Merula’s smiles are, but also seems to carry some sympathy for you. 

“Somehow, not this time. Botching things is your specialty, don’t get me wrong, but I am curious to see what this unspillable tea is all about,” Merula assures you, and you glance down to the table. 

“You’re just saying that to not be completely awful to me,” You respond, and Merula gives a larger smile, and you swear you see her cheeks turn a faint shade of pink.

“I’m saying it because I don’t want to be awful to you,” Merula answers, and you look up as she continues, “Perhaps…” Okay, her face was definitely red at this point, you could feel your own face heating up a bit yourself.

“Perhaps I even, _like_ you. Sometimes. I just can’t seem to stop saying the wrong things,” Merula finishes, and before you can respond, you notice the door to the shop open, and the pair of the red-haired Charlie Weasly and pink-haired Tonks walk into the shop, sitting down at a table not far from the one you and Merula are seated at.

“Tonks and Charlie?” You bite down on your knuckle, but to no avail, Merula clearly heard you, and she cocks an eyebrow, “So what? What could them showing up mean for us?”.

“...Fair point,” You agree, “Let’s get on with our date and just pretend they’re not here.”.

“That sounds like my kind of challenge, (l/n),” Merula winks at you, “I’m game, no matter what happens, it’s just you and me.”.

“Deal,” you agree, immediately focusing on Merula, leaving most of the resort of the tea shop a pastel blur.

After a rough hour of attempted conversation with Merula, you catch yourself glancing past her over to the table Tonks and Charlie are watching you from, and you sigh, lowering your voice.

“How is pretending that no one is here so tiring?” You ask, and Merula groans, “Honestly, we should just invite them over to the table, they’re practically sat here anyway.”.

“I think if we can just keep them off us a little while longer, we’ll be fine,” You attempt a joking grin of your own, “Believe it or not, I’d value a little privacy on a date.”.

“It’s alright, (y/n), we understand,” Tonks interjects from her table, and Charlie nods, “Yeah, we meant to be a bit stealthier.”.

“HAVE YOU TWO BEEN LISTENING THE ENTIRE TIME?” You shout, glaring at the pair sitting behind Merula, and Charlie’s eyes drop down to the floor, “Yeah, we heard everything.”.

“Brilliant,” Merula flashes a much more familiar smile at Charlie, a threatening, conniving smirk, the kind of smile a snake could give if it had the necessary bones and facial structure to smile, “So you two will leave us to our date?”.

“Gladly,” Charlie nods, standing up and gesturing to Tonks, “I always thought this was a bad idea, for the record.”.

“A bad idea with good intentions!” Tonks defends as she stands up, and you nod, “Of course, you helped me plan all this, you wanted to see how it went.”.

“It looks like it’s going well, by the way,” Tonks added, “Alright, we’ll get out of your hair.”.

Tonks stood up, and as she made her way to the door, she brushed a table holding a large tower of teacups, causing it to rattle precariously. Immediately, every muscle in your body seizes, but the cups eventually settle again on the table.

“Crisis averted!” Tonks cheers, pumping her fist into the air and catching the end of the table, immediately sending the entire table and its contents scattering across the ground.

It’s at this moment that Madam Puddifoot decides to return to the shop, because of course it is.

“Oh, dear!” Madam Puddifoot exclaims as she sees the scattered remains of what was at some point a great many teacups and saucers, “Careful on your way out, children, I need to clean all this up!”.

“Way out?” You repeat, your face quickly falling, and Madam Puddifoot nods, “Of course, I can’t let you all stay here with all this on the ground, it’s far too dangerous!”.

Merula sighs, “I guess this is the end of our date, (l/n).”.

“It would seem so…” You slowly answer, your heart dropping down into your shoes, and Tonks reaches up with both hands, pressing her palms together in an apologetic gesture, “I am so sorry, both of you!”.

Tonks reaches up behind her head, clasping her fingers together at the back of her neck, “You know what they say about best-laid plans…”.

“Do _you_ know what they say about best-laid plans, Tonks?” Merula snipes, and Tonks hangs her head, “I’ve actually no idea, but there’s probably a lesson in it.”.

Fighting your urge to curse Tonks through the wall of the tea shop, you stand up, walking over to Merula’s chair. 

“Come on, we should get headed back…” You attempt a friendly smile, but it just doesn’t work out, and Merula offers a sympathetic look as she stands up.

* * *

After an awkward walk back to Hogwarts, you run into Hagrid as the four of you separate, Merula giving you one more look you can’t quite place as you two walk away from each other. 

You hang your head as you walk over to Hagrid, pressing the top of your head into his stomach.

“Hagrid, how much would it take for you to let me just lie down on the floor of the Forbidden Forest until something killed me?” You ask, and Hagrid gives a low, rumbling sigh, “Date didn’t go well?”.

“It was a disaster. Everything fell apart and now I don’t know what to do,” You step back from Hagrid, burying your face in your hands.

“So you think I’ll know what ter do?” Hagrid asks, surprised, and you nod, “Yes, talking with you always helps. Plus, you’re kinda the only adult at this school I really trust with something like this…”.

“Hmm, well, what exactly went wrong with this date o’ yers?” Hagrid stroked his beard, and you pressed your palms up to your forehead, “What didn’t?”.

“We couldn’t find anything to talk about, I put in an absurd ‘unspillable’ tea order that never even arrived…” As you describe the date, Hagrid’s eyes get wider and wider, “...because Charlie and Tonks showed up to spy on us, and Tonks shattered so many teacups at once it closed the shop.”.

“Sweet Merlin’s slippers,” Hagrid answers, looking at you with equal parts pity and horror, and you hang your head again, “yeah.”.

“I’m sorry, (y/n),” Hagrid offers, and you clutch your hands up on top of your head, staring up at the ceiling of the corridor, “And then there was the walk back to the castle with Tonks and Charlie.”.

“What happened then?” Hagrid asked, and you threw your arms up, yelling at the roof, “NOTHING!”.

“Charlie and Tonks apologized a thousand times, even offering a game of Exploding Snap, but Merula didn’t say a word!” you explode, “The only thing I heard out of her was an ‘ow!’ when she got singed by a card!”.

“Hagrid, I really like Merula, this can’t have been how my first date was supposed to turn out...” You admit, feeling an overwhelming urge to just let yourself drop to the floor of the corridor and stop existing.

“Now, have ye considered that Merula is feelin’ the same way?” Hagrid asked, “It wasn’t just _yer_ first date, if memory serves…”. 

“I suppose not, it was one of the few things we got to talk about at Madam Puddifoot’s,” You remember, and Hagrid jabs a massive finger at you, “So Merula might be frettin’ over what yer thinkin’, the same way yer frettin’.”.

“Or Merula’s using this as another way to make me a pariah, telling everyone what a rotten date I planned…” You mumble dejectedly, and Hagrid shrugs, “Only one way teh find out, (y/n).”.

“You’re not suggesting I go and _find_ her, Hagrid?” You question, and Hagrid leans down slightly to you, “I sure am.”.

“If yeh don’ like how yeh two left things tonight, then go find Merula, an’ change how yer leavin’ things… tonight.”.

“Just thinking about facing Merula now…” A million scenarios run through your head, not a single one of them pleasant, “I don’t have any idea what to expect.”.

“I don’ know much about dates, (y/n),” Hagrid chuckles, “But I do know yeh can never go wrong when yer bein’ yerself.”.

“If you say so, Hagrid…” You respond, straightening your back and sucking in a deep breath, “Let’s see if I can go turn this date around.”.

* * *

After a few minutes of searching, you track down Merula in the empty courtyard, sitting on the edge of the fountain, still in the dress from the tea shop.

“Hey,” You sit down on the fountain’s edge next to her.

“Hey,” she answers, glancing up at you. Both of you sit in silence for a moment, before you awkwardly attempt to ask, “So… How’s everything going?”.

“Everything since our date that we just got back from?” Merula clarifies, and you slowly answer, “...Yeah…?”.

“It’s been… eventful, (l/n). What do you want me to say?” Merula sighs, setting her chin on one of her palms. 

“I… don’t know. I’ve nothing new to report either,” You sheepishly scratch the back of your neck, and you and Merula return to sitting in silence for several agonizing seconds.

“So… Then what is it you wanted to see me about?” Merula inquires, and you sigh, “I… Uh… wanted to talk to you about how our date went tonight.”. Suddenly, Merula’s eyes jump up to the starry night sky, “Stop a second, (l/n)! I just saw a shooting star!”.

Scanning the sky, you don’t spot anything other than the usual night sky, and you shrug, “Are you sure? I don’t see anything…”.

“You’re so oblivious,” Merula smirks, another friendly grin you’re still not quite used to, “Now we’ll have to look for another.”.

“But, Merula,” You attempt to stop her, “What I was saying, about our date…”.

“Eyes on the skies, (l/n)!” Merula interrupts, “We can deal with our date later…”. 

Merula shifts a little closer to you along the fountain’s edge, “For now, just watch the stars with me, okay?”.

“Okay…” You agree, turning your attention to the night sky above you, “I still think you’re stalling.”.

“I would never so blatantly lie to you like that, (l/n),” Merula blatantly lies to you, “Now stop with the words, I’m trying to count the stars.”.

After a few minutes, you peel yourself away from the expanse of tiny lights above you, turning back to Merula.

“I really do think we need to talk, Merula…” You attempt, and Merula huffs at you, “Fine. Let’s hear your take on stargazing.”

“Well…” You quickly realize forming an opinion on something you’ve only done once is difficult, and yet, the quiet of the empty courtyard, sitting alone with your crush seems to have given you your answer…

“It can be quite romantic, at the right moment…” You answer, and Merula laughs, “I’ll only keep at it if I can stargaze in silence, got it?”.

You raise one of your eyebrows, shifting yourself slightly closer to Merula on the fountain, “Merula, I didn’t track you down out here to stargaze in silence, and I feel like you know that. What’s gotten into you?”.

Merula goes quiet for a moment, seemingly trying to come up with an answer before she finally hangs her head, aiming her gaze at the stone floor of the courtyard.

“...There was no shooting star, all right? I’ve been stalling.”

“But why?” You ask, and Merula shoots an angry look at you, and yet you can see her lip quiver ever so slightly as she responds, “Because you don’t get to give me bad news, (l/n).”.

“So whatever you’re about to say about how you had a dreadful time with me tonight, forget it.”.

The anger in Merula’s expression melts away as she talks, leaving her seemingly on the edge of tears, her eyes returning to the floor of the courtyard.

“What?” You gasp, and Merula turns her head away from you.

“I don’t want to hear it. This whole date was your idea, and I wouldn’t have even gone if you didn’t ask,” Merula pulls her legs up onto the fountain’s edge, tucking her knees up by her chest.

“Well, yes, that’s usually how dates work, I think…” You add, and Merula turns her head to glare at you, “It was only your first one, you don’t know anything. So you don’t get to judge me.”.

“Wait, wait, wait,” You throw your hands up into a T-shape in front of you, “Merula, do you think I wanted to see you to… reject you?”.

“You beat me, complimenting how I looked before I had a chance to compliment you,” Merula sighs, “You set me up to lose this date from the start.”.

If it didn’t feel like someone had just chained an anchor to your chest, you’d laugh. You bore out your heart and soul when you told Merula how you felt, putting your reputation with everyone you knew at stake by asking her out, and she found a way to make a competition out of it.

“...It was never a competition, Merula,” You try to assure her, “Does it really matter who complimented who first?”.

“Yes! To me!” Merula snaps, dropping her legs back down off the edge of the fountain, “I mean, I don’t _care,_ but…”.

“...I’ve been beating myself up about it all night,” Merula admits, and you give her a confused look, asking, “All night? Wasn’t it one of the first things we talked about?”.

“It’s been a really long night! Okay?” Merula buries her face in her palms again, and you debate trying to reassure her again, eventually deciding on, “And that first part of the date has been the furthest thing from my mind…”.

“What is on your mind, then?” Merula looks back up at you, “What do you want from me?”.

“I wanted to see you because, even after I spent so much time figuring out our date, it still went wrong…” Now it was your turn to look down at the cobblestones below you, “I could barely keep up the conversation, Tonks and Charlie showed up and started crowding us…”.

“...Then the whole date ended early in a dangerous mass of scattered teacup shards,” You finish, now thoroughly dejected.

“That’s right!” Merula frowns at you, “ _You_ screwed up our date! So if you had a bad time with me, it’s your fault!”.

“I like you, Merula,” You look back up, locking your gaze on Merula’s ruby-red eyes.

“Enough to risk the wrath of Snape by writing that note to you in class in the first place…” The note, it seems so long ago that Snape caught you halfway through a love letter to Merula in the middle of class, thankfully catching you before you actually used her name. But, the subsequent rash of rumors is what sent you down the spiral that led to you asking Merula out to begin with, so maybe it wasn’t all bad?

“...You deserved so much better than this for your first date,” You admit, looking past Merula into the rushing water of the fountain, “So much better than me.”.

“Well…” Merula shifts closer to you, drawing your attention back from the fountain, “It could have been much worse. I could have been with someone… worse.”.

“Are saying you’re glad you went out with me tonight?” You ask, and Merula shakes her head, “No! I’m saying if I had a Time-Turner on me, there’s a lot I would have done differently tonight…”.

“...But I probably wouldn’t change having you as my first date. I would’ve kept that the same.”.

“You’re not _always_ dreadful to be around,” Merula smiles, awkwardly rubbing her arm before continuing, “I… I should probably tell you that more often.”.

“And… you were brave to ask me out, I know I’m… a lot, sometimes. You likely deserved better for your first date, too.”.

“I did choose the ‘Greatest Witch at Hogwarts’, didn’t I? Can’t see how I could do much better,” You joke, and Merula laughs, “Well, yes, I suppose that is true.”.

“I can’t believe we’ve both been terrified of the date being ruined for the other,” You almost laugh, and Merula crosses her arms, “Who said anything about worrying? Perhaps you were worried. _I’ve_ been just fine this whole time.”.

“Sure, Merula,” You concede, “I am glad we talked about it, though.”.

“I am too,” Merula admits, before hastily adding, “But if you tell anyone, I’ll deny it.”.

“You know how you said there’s a lot you would’ve done differently tonight, if we had another chance…” You start, and Merula narrows her eyes at you, “If you’ve got a Time-Turner on you and have been hiding it from me, I’ll never forgive you.”.

“Not this time, but…” You shift yourself a little bit closer, now sitting about as close to Merula as you can be without being pressed up against her, “Maybe we _will_ have another chance.”.

“A second date?” Merula laughs, “Only you would be so lucky, (y/n).”.

“It could be written in the stars,” You offer, raising a hand to the dark blanket of night above you, lit by nothing but the stars under a new moon.

“It could be…” Merula agrees, “You did say stargazing is romantic…”.

“I did, didn’t I?” You smile, and Merula leans over, resting her head on your shoulder. 

You feel one of Merula’s hands slide under yours, and you link your fingers in between hers, setting it up on your leg as Merula completely closes the distance between you and her, now fully leaning against you.

You lean back against her, and Merula shifts her head up, pecking your cheek, before settling back into the crook of your neck, blushing. 

The two of you look up into the vast expanse of lights above you, and a shooting star streaks a shining arc across the sky.

**Author's Note:**

> (Who's got two thumbs and is still writing MerulaXMC fics? This guy! As always, thanks for dropping by to read, and I promise, for the two people that still read my ongoing stuff, it's coming, I swear, I haven't abandoned it. As always, thanks for coming by to read!)


End file.
